How to build a barbecue pit smoker?

Building your barbecue pit smoker is not only cheaper but also allow for your barbecuing creativity, and you are in a position to personalize it. You can build your pit smoker with minimal skill and tools. Before starting the most-enjoyable part of building your pit smoker, determine the purpose of the smoker. Will you barbecue a bull of a chicken? Will your smoker be portable or fixed? Your pit maybe simple converted charcoal grill smoker pit demonstrated here – rock, underground, brick or metallic pits. After getting a clear picture of what you want, you can start gathering the material.

Basic features of a barbecue pit

A basic barbecue pit smoker will have a cooking chamber with cooking grates, a firebox, and chimney. In building the most basic converted charcoal grill smoker pit, you will need a large charcoal grill, lid, cooking grate, small chunks of hardwood, medium-sized metal pan or aluminum pan, and metal temperature gauge. For a complicated smoker, you will need more material. The main aim of a barbecue pit smoker is to cook your meat in a controlled temperature. It is unlike the regular gas or charcoal grill that cooks the meat with a direct heat at a high temperature that can range up to 400 to 500 degrees Fahrenheit. A pit barbecue smoker cooks your meat at a low temperature of 250 degree Fahrenheit. With the material and the idea in mind, it is time to make your charcoal grill smoker pit.

Steps to create a barbecue pit smoker

Pour ready-lighted charcoal on grill

Pour water into the pan

Place metal grate on the grill

Insert metal gauge

Pour ready-lighted charcoal in grill

The first step is to pour charcoal that is ready-light into the grill. The charcoal is poured on one side of the grill. You do not a lot of the charcoal. The right amount should be roughly quarter full because the wood pellets or chunks will act as a source of heat and smoke. Remember you can always add charcoal into the grill. Using a match, light the charcoal and allow them time to get hot and whitish in color.

Pour water into the pan

Now you have the charcoal hot and ready. Fill the aluminum or pan with water. Place it on the opposite side of the charcoal. Add small wood chunk to the hot charcoal. It is advisable to use a chunk of wood that was previously soaked in water for at least 30 to 45 minutes. Chunk of wood from hardwood search as hickory and oak are the best compared to softwood such as pine. Softwoods tend to produce smoke that will give your meat an awful smell and taste.

Place grate on the grill

Place the grate on which you will cook your meat on the grill. Arrange your meat on the top of the grill over the aluminum pan or a metal. The cooking food should be kept away from the direct heat source. Cover the food with a lid. The smoke from the burning wood should be directed over the metal by positioning the air vents on the lid on top of the food.

Insert metal gauge

In one of the vents, insert the metal gauge to monitor the temperature of the smoke pit. As mentioned earlier, the heat should be below 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Control the temperature by removing and replacing the lid. Add a wood once the first piece burns down. This can be done after every one hour. Smoke the meat for 4 to six hours until it becomes tender.